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Medical uses

Fluvoxamine's only FDA approved indication is in the treatment of OCD,[6] although in other countries (e.g. Australia,[7]UK[8] and Russian Federation[9]) it has indications for MDD, as well. Fluvoxamine has been found to be useful in the treatment of MDD, and anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Fluvoxamine is indicated for children and adolescents with OCD.[10] The drug works long-term, and retains its therapeutic efficacy for at least a year.[11] It has also been found to possess some analgesic properties in line with other SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants.[12][13][14]

Some evidence shows fluvoxamine may be a helpful adjunct in the treatment of schizophrenia, improving the depressive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of the disorder.[15] Its actions at the sigma receptor may afford it a unique advantage among antidepressants in treating the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.[16]

Adverse effects

Gastrointestinal side effects are more common in those receiving fluvoxamine than with other SSRIs.[17] Otherwise, fluvoxamine's side-effect profile is very similar to other SSRIs.[2][6][7][8][18][19]

History

Fluvoxamine was developed by Kali-Duphar,[30] part of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Belgium, now Abbott Laboratories, and introduced as Floxyfral in Switzerland and Solvay in West Germany in 1983.[30] It was approved by the FDA on 5 Dec, 1994 and introduced as Luvox in the US.[31] In India, it is available, among several other brands, as Uvox by Abbott.[32] It was one of the first SSRI antidepressants to be launched, and is prescribed in many countries to patients with major depression.[33] It was the first SSRI, a nonTCA drug, approved by the U.S. FDA specifically for the treatment of OCD.[34] At the end of 1995, more than ten million patients worldwide had been treated with fluvoxamine.[35] Fluvoxamine was the first SSRI to be registered for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder in children by the FDA in 1997.[36] In Japan, fluvoxamine was the first SSRI to be approved for the treatment of depression in 1999[37] and was later in 2005 the first drug to be approved for the treatment of social anxiety disorder.[38] Fluvoxamine was the first SSRI approved for clinical use in the United Kingdom.[39]